Apron holder



' June 5, 1928. 1,672,165

. INVENTOR.

' YXu ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 5, 1928.

GEORGE S. LEWIS, SPRI NGFIELID, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE, ASSIGN- MENTS'; TOA'UTOZSMOGK'AND'CLAMECOMPANY, OE SP :INGFIELD, NASSAQHUSETTS A CORPORATION orMAssAcH-nsE'crTs;

, APRON HOLDER...

Application filed May 10,

This inventionrelates to. an. apron holder, particularly useful in connection with automobile repair work. In myco-pending ap plication Serial"No..187-,688, filed April 29, 1927, I have shown an. apron holder for the same general. purpose; Thepresent inven-, tion is for the special purpose of fastening the apron on, the, backs: of the front seats. From this holding position the, apron ofpaper for example. may bedraped over the, seats to protect themfrom the mechanics dirt as he works inthe car. Most of the repair. work; within thebody of an automobile requires the mechanic to work. in. the front seats or. forwardly, thereof. I According to the idea otthis invention, the structure is particularly workedv out to provide an apron holder of exceptionalconvenience' for manipulation. by the mechanic and one of exceptional utility for holding an ordinary sheet of paper, for example, to cover the upholstery of the front seats of automobiles as an apron, against which mechanics may lean when inside the car body, and without soiling the upholstery.

The features of invention involved will be understood best: from-.- the following de scription of the accompanying vdrawings and from the annexed claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 showsthe holder in position against the back of thefront seat of'an automobile with the paper apronspread out over the rear side, .the top, the front side, and the bottom; of the front seat of: an automobile;

Fig, 2 isa sidedetail view of the adjacent portions ofttheholder, shown separated and arranged: to overlap; and 5 N Fig. 3iSfi detailplaniview of the portions shown invFig-h Qbut in. overlapped position.-

Fig. 4 isav modified form of my invention showing a detail side view of theoverlapping, portionsof the clamp. in spaced positions v a V the ua of. the invention a ga-rage mechani'cv before startinghis worklwithin a,

closed automobile body. procures an ordinary sheetof paper 1 for an apron. which need not be; of any. special. shape so longas it islargeenough. He spreads this apron 1 over the upholstery OfftllQ'SEilt up and over the back, so that it extends down the back. at the rearasWell-as the front for the holder 1927, Serial No. 190,300.

to get a good grip in the clampingiopera tion which willbe described. I

On the front side of the seat back 10 one places the front portion '3 of the holder. Thisportionis preferably of flat, comparatively narrow, rather stiff spring metal, and

generally follows the contour of the up hol'- stered back againstwhich it is to press..

Then-the rear portion 4 is placed on the rear side of the seat, preferably as shown, The adjacent ends 5 and 6' of portions 3land'4' are put in overlapping position. by inserting end 5 under end 6, passing it through the ing movement by the engagement of: the

headed stud 7 on end 6"wit-h one of the hooks vor transverse slots 8 provided in the edge of. end 5. This arrangement makes an ad justable lockingconnection between the overlapping ends 5 and 6.

The rear portion 4 is preferably made up of an outwardly extending upper horizontal part 20. adownward bend 21', a verticalpart 22, an. inward bend 23, an inwardly extending horizontal part24, a downwardbend 25, a lower vertical seat contact part 26, the lower end of which isbent outwardly as at 27, This arrangement provides for an outward extension of portion ,4 (comprising parts 20 and. 22,)and an. inward extension (comprising parts24 and 26') with, relation to the seat back. 10 and clamping portion 3. By such an arrangement the portion 4 providesffor the clamp, as a whole, a bow shaped spring portion which provides for portion 3 lying closely adjacent andl for the mostpart contacting the front contour of the seat where: itfis of advantage. The rear portion 4 of the-clamp, therefore, is positioned and shaped quite differently than the front portion 3. This is so in order for each tocooperate best with. the other in the joint function of holding thepaper apron on the seat The rear, portionprovidesfor, a very large spring action; by its outward and in ward extensions it passes around a coat or rug rail that may be on the back of the seat. The contacting part 26 bears against the seat back in line with a good contacting part of portion 3. Since the paper apron has a bight hold over the back of the seat, it is held for a considerable length by the spring pressed portion 3, and the rear portion 4 may be shaped as described for contributing features to the holder which would not be present, if both portions 3 and 4 were shaped alike. I

Due to the particular arrangement shown,

the spring portion 8 has a fulcrum for bending purposes at the overlapping end 6 of portion .4 in front of the slot. From this fulcrum the resiliency of portion 3 increases as the lower end is approached. The lower part, beginning at about the level with the reverse bend at the lower end of portion 4 is the part that. can be pressed resiliently against the paper apron and against the seat with the greatest force for apron holding purposes. Furthermore, as the apron is pressed against the seat, the springs of the upholstery in the seat back are put under strain to press outwardly against portion 3. Consequently the paper apron 1 is held against the front side of the seat back with spring pressure on both sides and over sufficient area to retard slipping. In addition, the apron is preferably bent over the top of the seat back and downwardly, so as to be engaged efiectively with the reverse bend of portion 4 at the bottom. With this arrangement, the apron is held most effectively by a spring clamping action and with a bight over the seat back to help retard slipping action.

The portion 4 as shown, is preferably of heavier gauge metal stock than portion 3 and although resilient, is quite a bitstiifer in every respect than portion 3. Thus portion 4 is the backbone of the holder, or its principal supporting element, while the portion 3 is the more active spring holding element of the holder. By working out the structure in this manner, the portions cooperate better for their purpose than if they were equal spring portions. The nature of the contacting conditions of portion 3 permits the best result by increased resiliency as compared with portion 4, and this increased resiliency can be best accomplished. by making portion 4 stiffer and supporting portion 3 from it.

The simplicity of manufacture, but more particularly the ease of manipulation by the user should be noted. When the apron is placed over the seat, the portion 4 is placed in position, portion 3 is inserted or threaded through the hole near the end, as shown in Fig. 3, and hooked in overlapping position on the stud just about as easily as a hook is put through an eye. The holder is then pressed downwardly against the paper and seat from the top into the position shown in Fig. 1, and the lower ends of portions 3 and 4 are set with an effective spring clamping action.

Ordinarily, two holdersone at eachside of each seat if there are two front seats, should be used, but it is quite possible to use one for each seat by placing it about at the middle. In any event the holder itself need not come in contact with any part of the seat or its upholstery because the paper apron lies between the holder and the uphol stery for protection purposes with regard'to the holder just as it does with regard to the mechanics greasy clothes. Therefore, a clean piece of paper of suit able area and regardless of shape, may be used as the temporary seat cover or apron in garages and Whether or not the apron holders are soiled, the upholstery of the automobile will be protected.

By this invention the repeated use of special seat covers in garage work is avoided and no special provision. need be made for keeping the apron holder clean because no part of it need touch the automobile directly.

The nature of the invention is such that the mechanic should find it more convenient to fasten the apron in place with the holder and drape the seat, than. to try to drape the seat without the use of the holder. In prior practice, even when special protecting seat covers are provided in. garages, the mechanics frequently grab a piece of wrapping paper to use as a loose seat apron rather than fit the inn temporary covers specially bou ht for P tection purposes. WVith the holder herein described, the mechanic s helped in arrangmg lllS piece of wrapping or other paper for apron purposes and he can cover the seat decently and fix the paper 1n position w 1thout any real effort on his part.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified forniof my invention planned for use on bucket seats found, for example, in Ford cars of the These seat backs have little closed type. upholstery and are relatively narrowfrom front-to rear. According to the modification, the portion 3 is made like theqportion 3 of Fig. 1, but the portion 4,is formed to slope toward the seat back and is provided with an end portion bent upwardly to contact with the seat back as indicated. Thus portion 4 is arch shaped, but instead of the contacting foot at the bottom extending This updownwardly, it extends upwardly. wardly extending contacting foot is planned to follow the contour of the back of the seat which is substantially flat. On these narrow seats it" may be desirable to have the slotted end portion 6 bent backwardly on itself, with the bend at about the middle of the rectangular slot, so that the overlapped part of portion 3 may pass through the slot and bind between the parallel spaced end parts of portion 4 at end 6. This is all shown in Fig. 4.

The forms of the invention as specifically shown and described, may obviously be varied and changed into other forms without losing the idea of the means to carry out the invent-ion as exemplifiedin this specification and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

I claim: I

1. A temporary apron holderfor an automobile seat or the (like, comprising two spring holding members of curved fiat spring metal, a rectangular transverse slot near the end of one member slightly wider than the width of the other member to permit overlapping of the adjacent end of the other member on opposite faces ,of the slotted member, a stud on the slotted member spaced rearwardly from the slot and aboutin line with one side thereof, a series of transverse slots in the edge of the other member which are adapted to engage the stud, all arranged so as' to bind the overlapped ends together whenever their free'ends bend to separate and to permit adjustment of the holding members at their overlapped portions.

. 2. A temporary apron holder for an automobile seat or the like, comprising a long, comparatively narrow, fiat spring metal portion formed to follow the approximate contour of the frontside of a seat back and having an upper end provided at the edgethereof with a series of transverse slots, a second -member of relatively more rigid flat strap metal having an upper portion adapted to overlap the said slotted portion of the other member and provided near its ends with an upwardly offset portion and provided with a rectangular slot. to receive said slotted portion so that the latter may overlap the rigid portion on opposite'sides thereof and a stud on the rigid portion whereby it may have its overlapping portion adjustableby the engagement of said slots with said stud, said latter portion extending downwardly and being bent into arched shaped form and into a contacting foot at the lower end thereof.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

' GEORGE S. LEWIS. 

